Salvia plant named ‘Indiglo Girl’

ABSTRACT

The new and distinct cultivar of perennial  Salvia  plant named ‘Indiglo Girl’ characterized by its large strong violet-colored flowers densely arranged in dense verticils, with upright habit and stiff, upright; heavily-branched stems and strong vigorous growth rate and large deep-green foliage.  Salvia  ‘Indiglo Girl’ is especially useful for landscaping and containerized ornamentals by itself or in combination with other plants.

Botanical denomination: Salvia nemorosa (Linnaeus).

Cultivar designation: ‘Indiglo Girl’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of ornamental sage plant hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name Salvia ‘Indiglo Girl’ or as the new plant. The new plant was the result of a controlled pollination between the proprietary unreleased hybrid known only by the breeder code number Salvia 12-31-02 (not patented) (a seedling of ‘Pink Dawn’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,343) as the female patent and ‘Violet Riot’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,273 as the male parent at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich., USA. The seeds were harvested in the fall of 2013 and the single specific seedling that developed into the new Salvia was assigned the breeder code 13-10-22 through the evaluation process. The new plant was first selected for further evaluation in the summer of 2014 and selected for final evaluation in the summer of 2016. The first asexual propagation was performed in the summer of 2014 by basal cuttings at the same nursery in Zeeland, Mich. ‘Indiglo Girl’ has proven that it is stable and reliably produces true to type plants in successive generations of asexual propagation.

No plants of Salvia ‘Indiglo Girl’ have been sold or disclosed in this country, or anywhere in the world, by this or any name, more than one year prior to the filing of this application, with the exception of that which was sold or disclosed either directly or indirectly from the inventor and within one year from the filing of this application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of Salvia ‘Indiglo Girl’ have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, nutrition and light intensity without, however, any variance in genotype.

Salvia ‘Indiglo Girl’ can be most closely compared to ‘Blue Marvel’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 27,018 and ‘Midnight Model’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 29,498. ‘Blue Marvel’ is smaller in habit, the foliage is larger and the flower color is slightly different colored. ‘Midnight Model’ has darker colored flowers and is slightly taller in habit. The female parent, Salvia 12-31-02, has larger pink flowers and the habit is more spreading and less upright. The male parent has smaller, more violet flowers and more branching with smaller foliage. The new plant can also be compared to ‘Haeumanarc’ U.S. Plant Pat. No. 13,322 which is much shorter in habit with smaller and has a lighter bluish flower color. Compared with Salvia ‘Bumbleblue’ U.S. Plant patent application Ser. No. 15/731,914, the new plant is much larger in habit with larger leaves and flowers.

The following characteristics in combination distinguish Saliva ‘Indiglo Girl’ as a new and distinct cultivar:

-   -   1. Large, strong violet-colored flowers densely arranged in         tight verticils;     -   2. Upright habit with stiff, upright, heavily-branched stems;     -   3. Strong, vigorous and winter-hardy;     -   4. Large, rugose, deep-green foliage.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The photographs of the new plant demonstrate the unique traits and the overall appearance of Salvia ‘Indiglo Girl’. The colors are as accurate as reasonably possible with color reproductions. Variation in ambient light spectrum, source and direction may cause the appearance of minor variation in color. The plant used in the photographs was a one-year old plant grown in an open, full-sun trial garden at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. with supplemental water and fertilizer when needed. No stem pinching or plant growth regulators have been used.

FIG. 1 shows the plant habit in full flower in a container.

FIG. 2 shows a close-up of the flower scape with the buds and strong violet petal color.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

The following descriptions and color references except where common dictionary terms are used are based on the 2015 edition of The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart. Salvia ‘Indiglo Girl’ has not been observed under all possible environments. The phenotype may vary slightly with different growing environments such as temperature, light, fertility, soil pH, moisture and plant maturity levels, but without any change in the genotype. The following observations and size descriptions are based on two-year old plants growing in a greenhouse with minimal shading in addition to two-year-old plants grown in a full-sun trial garden at a wholesale perennial nursery in Zeeland, Mich. Plants were given supplemental water and fertilizer but no plant growth regulators were used.

-   Botanical classification: Salvia nemorosa (Linnaeus); -   Parentage: Female or seed parent is the unreleased non-patented     proprietary hybrid 12-31-02; the male or pollen parent is ‘Violet     Riot’; -   Plant habit: Winter-hardy herbaceous perennial; multi-stemmed, with     basal and cauline foliage, and flowers in several tightly arranged     verticils on heavily-branched upright racemes displayed above     foliage; in flower with panicles about 54.0 cm tall and about 48.0     cm wide at the fullest point about 10.0 cm above soil; foliage     extends about two-thirds of the way up the stems; -   Propagation: By herbaceous tip cuttings; time to produce a rooted     stems about two weeks; -   Growth rate: Rapid, vigorous, finishing in from a 25 mm plug to     flower in one-gallon pot in about 8 to 10 weeks, and flowering in a     one-gallon pot from a dormant bare-root one-year-old plant in about     6 to 8 weeks; vernalization not required but beneficial; -   Root description: Fine, well-branched; color dependent on age and     soil type, from cream to dark tan in color; -   Foliage: Opposite, simple, rugose, ovate; margin crenate to lobed     with lobes incised about 5.0 mm; glabrous adaxial and puberulent     abaxial; acute apex and base cordate to rounded; leaf blades to     about 17.0 cm long and 7.6 cm across, decreasing in size distally;     average about 12.2 cm long and 2.2 cm across; -   Foliage fragrance: Typical sage fragrance; -   Foliage color: Mature adaxial surface nearest RHS 139A, mature     abaxial surface nearest RHS NN137C; expanding adaxial nearest RHS     137B, expanding abaxial nearest RHS 138A; -   Venation: Reticulate; impressed on adaxial side and ridged on     abaxial side; puberulent abaxial, puberulent adaxial midrib and     lightly puberulent adaxial secondary veins; -   Vein color: Mature adaxial midrib blend between RHS 145D and RHS     147D, main and secondary veins nearest RHS 145C; mature abaxial     midrib and main veins nearest RHS 145A, secondary veins nearest RHS     145B and developing to nearest RHS 147C toward margin; expanding     adaxial midrib nearest RHS 145C and main and secondary veins nearest     RHS 145C and developing to nearest RHS 145D; expanding abaxial     midrib, main and secondary veins nearest RHS 147C; -   Petiole: Concavo-convex, pubescent to puberulent abaxial and adaxial     surfaces; to about 8.5 cm long and 4.0 mm wide at base, average 5.5     cm long and 3.0 mm wide at base; -   Petiole color: Adaxial center blend between RHS 146D and RHS 148C,     margins nearest RHS 146B; abaxial center lighter than RHS 146D and     margins nearest RHS 146B; -   Stems: Quadrangular; pubescent, to 16.0 cm long before flowers and     4.0 mm across at base; -   Stem color: Nearest RHS 146B with light proximal blushing of nearest     RHS N186A; -   Nodes: Eight before flowering verticils; average internode length     2.2 cm; color same as stem; -   Flower: Perfect; bilabiate; zygomorphic; verticillate with flowering     generally beginning at lower verticils and advancing up the scape,     not all flowers at same verticil opening at the same time, typically     with about six flowers or buds per verticil; with lower lip     projected outwardly almost horizontally and perpendicular to stem,     and hood petal upwardly at about 45 degree angle above horizontal;     self-cleaning, petals not persistent; flowering beginning late     spring for about four weeks and repeating if initial scapes removed; -   Flower longevity: About four days on the plant or as cut flower; -   Flower fragrance: None detected; -   Flower buds one to two days prior to anthesis: Shape is lightly     falcate, with rounded apex; pubescent; about 14.0 mm long, 6.5 mm     tall and 2.5 mm wide; -   Flower bud color: Dorsal petals nearest RHS 90A and ventral petals     RHS N88A; calyx nearest RHS 137B with occasional blushing on dorsal     side of nearest RHS N186B, calyx veins nearest RHS 137A; -   Flower size: About 20.0 cm long from base of calyx to tip of     exserted style, 14.0 mm tall and 6.0 mm wide; -   Petals: Bilabiate corolla; with upper hood and lower labium     producing an angle between the two petals of about 50 degrees; -   Hood (upper) petal: Distal portion slightly arcuate and laterally     conduplicate with emarginate apex and basal 8.5 mm fused into tube     about 2.5 mm diameter at base and about 5.0 mm diameter at petal     separation; puberulent to glandular outside, glabrous inside; about     17.5 mm long, 5.0 mm tall and 1.5 mm across; -   Labium (lower) petal: Consisting of three apical lobes, two upwardly     projecting lateral lobes about 3.0 mm long and about 2.0 mm wide at     base with rounded apex, one central lobe about 4.0 mm long 8.0 mm     wide with rounded apex with crenulate margin; distal portion of     lower labium slightly concaved upwards; distally glabrous adaxial;     glabrous abaxial except puberulent along abaxial longitudinal axis;     adaxial tube minutely puberulent in both dorsal and ventral     portions; about 13.5 mm long, 8.0 mm wide at the widest portion and     5.0 mm tall; -   Petal color: Abaxial distal hood nearest RHS 90A and lightening to     lighter than RHS 91D at base of tube, adaxial distal hood nearest     RHS 90B and proximal tube nearest RHS NN155D; adaxial and abaxial     lower labium distally nearest RHS N89B, abaxial lower labium tube     lightening proximally to nearest lighter than RHS 91D; -   Androecium: Two, fused with labium, contained within hood petal; not     fully developed;     -   -   Filament.—Glabrous, about 3.0 mm long and about 0.3 mm             diameter; adnate about 8.0 mm from base of tube; curved             around inside of hood petal; color nearest RHS 91D.         -   Anther.—Glabrous, oblong, about 1.8 mm long and about 0.5 mm             diameter; longitudinal, dorsifixed; dorsal color between RHS             N187B and RHS N187A, ventral nearest RHS NN155D.         -   Pollen.—Not observed. -   Gynoecium: One, curved around inside of hood petal; total about 21.0     mm long;     -   -   Style.—About 19.0 mm long and less than 0.5 mm diameter;             color nearest RHS NN155D at base, darkening distally to             darker than RHS 86A before stigma split.         -   Stigma.—Split in two and curved in the terminal 2.0 mm; apex             pointed; color nearest RHS N89A.         -   Ovary.—Superior; color nearest RHS 145A.         -   Fruit.—One to four nutlets per flower; ellipsoidal to             spherical; about 1.5 mm across and 1.7 mm long; color             nearest RHS 202A. -   Calyx: Five sepals, three upper and two lower, campanulate, apex     acute; fused in basal 5.0 mm; persistent; tube about 8.0 mm long and     3.5 mm wide; lower cleft about 3.0 mm deep between lobes and upper     and lower set; upper set of three fused to closer than 1.0 mm of     apex; -   Calyx color: Abaxial nearest RHS 137B with veins nearest RHS 137A     and occasionally lightly blushed with nearest RHS N187A; adaxial     base nearest RHS 145D, distally nearest RHS 138C with darker veins     of nearest RHS 138A; -   Bracts: Each verticil subtended by two opposite bracts; apex     acuminate, base truncate, shape nearly cordate; margin entire,     ciliolate, and glabrous above and below; bract size up to 30.0 mm     long and 17.0 mm wide, decreasing distally; color of both surfaces     nearest RHS NN137A with center and base veins nearest RHS 145D; -   Peduncles: Quadrangular in cross section, strong; upright; flowering     portion to about 33.0 cm tall and 27.5 cm across with branches     taller than central stem; main stem 5.0 mm across at base; finely     puberulent; heavily branched with opposite branches at about 45     degrees above horizontal at the three nodes below flowers; branches     to about 36.0 cm long and 3.0 mm across; average space between     verticils about 1.4 cm; -   Peduncle color: Nearest RHS 146B; -   Pedicels: Cylindrical, about 3.0 mm long and 0.7 mm diameter;     puberulent; to about 45 degrees above horizontal; -   Pedicel color: Nearest RHS N144D proximally and lightly blushed with     nearest RHS 186A distally; -   Disease and pest resistance: Plants of Salvia ‘Indiglo Girl’ perform     best with adequate moisture and good drainage but are fairly drought     tolerant once established; hardy from at least USDA zone 3 to 8;     resistance to diseases and pests beyond that common to Salvia has     not been noted. 

It is claimed:
 1. The new and distinct perennial Salvia plant named ‘Indiglo Girl’ as herein described and illustrated useful for landscaping as a specimen plant, en masse or as a cut flower. 